TNAG-0631-FCO40-779-Effect-of-GATT-Multi-Fibre-Arrangement-on-Hong-Kong-negotiat-1977 — Page 135

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

RESTRICTED

CEILINGS WERE NOT NEGOTIABLE THEN THE MATTER WOULD EVENTUALLY HAVE

TO GO BACK TO THE COUNCIL. IT WAS NOT WITHIN THE COMPETENCE OF THE ARTICLE 113 COMMITTEE TO ADJUST FIGURES LAID DOWN WITH SUCH CLARITY

BY THE COUNCIL. THE NETHERLANDS AND THE ITALIANS AGREED WITH US

THAT ANY CONCESSIONS ON COTTON YARN AND ON COTTON FABRIC WOULD

EXCEED THE LIMITS LAID DOWN BY THE COUNCIL. A MAJORITY OF DELEGATIONS SAID THAT BEFORE CONCESSIONS WERE MADE MEMBER STATES SHOULD BE GIVEN AN OVERALL PICTURE OF WHAT THE CONCESSIONS WOULD

MEAN. THE GERMAN DELEGATION ON THE OTHER HAND ARGUED THAT IF THE

113 COMMITTEE DEEMED ITSELF NOT COMPETENT TO GIVE THE COMMISSION THE NECESSARY FLEXIBILITY, THE RIGHT ORDER OF EVENTS WAS FOR THE COMMISSION TO ASSUME ITS RESPONSIBILITIES NOW AND PURSUE NEGOTIATIONS TO A CONCLUSION, AND FOR THE COUNCIL SUBSEQUENTLY TO TAKE A VIEW AS TO WHETHER THE RESULTS WERE SUFFICIENTLY CONSISTENT WITH THE MANDATE HANDED DOWN. TRAN (COMMISSION) DID NOT

COMMIT HIMSELF TO SEEKING A FRESH MANDATE ON COTTON YARN AND CLOTH

IMMEDIATELY BUT SAID THAT THE COMMISSION PROBABLY WOULD GO BACK TO

THE COUNCIL FOR FRESH INSTRUCTIONS WHEN THEY HAD SOME SUCCESSES TO

REPORT.

(11) BILATERALS,

BRAZIL

3. FURTHER TO THEIR REPORT ON TUESDAY, THE COMMISSION ANNOUNCED FIGURES THAT IN THEIR VIEW WOULD BE NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE AN

AGREEMENT WITH BRAZIL. THESE INVOLVED CONCESSIONS BY THE COMMUNTI Y ON COTTON YARN AND COTTON CLOTH, TAKING THE 1976 QUOTAS INSTEAD OF 1976 IMPORTS AS THE STARTING POINT IN BOTH CASES. IN THE CASE OF YARN THIS WOULD MEAN AN INCREASE ON THE PRESENT OFFER OF 2,858 TONNES FOR 1978: AND AN INCREASE OF 3,495 TONNES IN THE CASE OF COTTON CLOTH. THE GROWTH RATES FROM 1978 ONWARDS WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED, TRAN STRESSED THAT TO ACCOMMODATE THESE INCREASES, THE GLOBAL CEILINGS FOR THESE TWO PRODUCTS WOULD HAVE TO BE INCREASED. HE ADDED, IN RESPONSE TO REPEATED QUESTIONING FROM MEMBER STATES' DELEGATIONS, THAT TO STAND A REASONABLE CHANCE OF CONCLUDING A LARGE NUMBER OF BILATERAL AGREEMENTS, THE COMMISSION ESTIMATED THAT THE OVERALL GLOBAL CEILING FOR COTTON YARN WOULD HAVE TO BE INCREASED BY A FIGURE NOT EXCEEDING 7-3,000 TONNES. FOR COTTON CLOTH

2

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THE INCREASE

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